Water You Thinking?
by Ghostwriter
Summary: HISB Katherine has to face her fear to save Jason.
1. Avoidance

WATER YOU THINKING?

AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER

Yes, this is an actual episode title, but it fits for the story. This takes place between the episodes "The Soul Stealer" and "A Cloud Of Hate Pt 1". Power Rangers belongs to Haim Saban and Nickelodeon. I only own the plot, subplot, and characters you don't recognize. Special thanks to Darien Fawkes who helped me figure out how to incorporate the plotline.

It was a beautiful day and almost everyone was outside doing something, whether it was rollerblading, jogging, playing in the park, or swimming at the Angel Grove Beach or the Angel Grove Pool. At the pool, were ten teenagers, nine who were swimming, and one who was lying on a chair, far away enough from the edge not to get wet, but close enough to hear her friends.

"Hey Kat, you sure you don't wanna come in?" Jason offered, after swimming up to the side. The girl sat up and glanced over at the water over her sunglasses. She bit her lip. The water **did** look refreshing. But what if something happened again? She couldn't take that risk.

"I'm fine, Jason, honest. Besides, I'm not really fond of the water," Katherine finally replied, lying back down.

"Okay," Jason agreed and then swam off to the other side of the pool where his other friends were.

"She won't come in?" Kimberly asked.

"No, she still says she's not fond of the water," Jason sighed. "Though I'm pretty sure she was thinking about saying 'Yes' to me," he continued.

"It sounds like she may be aquaphobic," Billy commented.

"That's like being hydrophobic, right?" Kimberly asked.

"Same thing actually. Both are used to refer to an intense fear of the water," Billy confirmed.

"Wow," Kimberly said, blowing out a breath. _Poor Kat. Wonder what caused it_, she thought to herself. Just then, Justin, Hilary, Chris, Tina, Zane, Curtis, Richie, Bulk, and Skull walked up in their swim trunks and bathing suits.

"Hey guys," Trini greeted.

"Hey," they all said, getting in the water. Aisha swam up to Bulk who put an arm around her in a brief hug.

"Hey," she greeted, returning the gesture.

"I'm so glad you guys got the day off," Trini said to Jason, Bulk, and Skull.

"Me too," Skull agreed. While this was going on, Tyler walked into the pool area.

"Hey, Kat," he greeted, sitting down next to her.

"Hi," she acknowledged.

"Not in the mood for a swim?" he asked.

"Not particularly, no," she answered shortly.

"So, why don't we get out of here, you know, go for a walk or something?" he invited. _Really? She's just going to sit here like a lump while everyone's out having fun?_ he thought.

"No thank you. I'm fine right here," she responded.

"Well, come on. It's obvious you're not having a good time just sitting here. Why don't we go do something?" he persisted. In the pool, Jason started to climb out.

"Hold on, Bro. Let her handle it," Tommy advised.

"I **am** doing something. I'm working on my tan," she told him. _If he doesn't leave me alone, he won't like what happens next_, she thought to herself. "Now why don't you just shoot through?" she continued.

"Huh?" Tyler asked.

"Buzz off," Katherine clarified. Dejected, the boy did as he was requested.

"See, Bro? She can take care of herself," Tommy said.

"Yeah, I know," Jason sighed. Then, his eyes clouded as the girl stood up and headed for the pool gates. He quickly got out of the pool and followed her.

"Kat, you all right?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just have to get out of here. This was a mistake," she replied.

"Is it because of Tyler or the water?" he queried. Katherine blew out a breath.

"The water," she admitted. "I-I shouldn't have come," she stammered.

"I don't mean to pry, but do you want to talk about this?" he asked. Kat bit her lip. Should she tell him? He said that he didn't want to pry and it wasn't really any of his business. But on the other hand, he and the others were constantly at the pool, beach, or lake. What was she going to do, just avoid them for the rest of her life? Making a quick decision, she pulled him to the side out of view and hearing of everybody else.

"It wasn't always like this. I mean-I was training to be a diver in the Pan Globals before I moved here."

"So what happened?"

"I was in the middle of a meet-before the Pan Globals actually started-and I was about to dive. Just as I jumped off the board, Rita contacted me telepathically. It was the first time she had ever done so and it startled me and I messed up the dive and hit my head." She sighed. "When I woke up, I was in the hospital and they told me that I had lost the meet."

"I'm sorry."

"It was shortly after that that my dad got the job transfer and we moved here. Anyways, I've been too afraid to go near the water ever since."

"I don't blame you." Jason looked at Katherine who seemed to be trying to compose her self. "Come on. Let's get out of here." With that, they walked out of the pool area. Meanwhile, on the moon, Rita and Zedd had seen the whole thing.

"So, little Kat doesn't like the water any more, does she? That gives me an idea," Rita declared.

"Oh?" Zedd asked.

"Yes. And let's just say that Jason's going to play a big part in my plans for the Brown Ranger," Rita smirked.

"What do you have in mind, Empress?" Goldar asked.

"I'll call on my old friend Tempestra," Rita replied.

"Of course! Her ability to control the elements will bring the Rangers to their knees!" Goldar realized.

"And we'll get them **finally**!" Scorpina enthused. Rita then went to her chambers and began chanting in a foreign language. Presently, a woman in a one-piece white suit with black eyes and long, flowing red hair appeared.

"Tempestra," Rita grinned.

"Rita, my old friend. What can I do for you?" Tempestra asked.

"I need your help in destroying the Power Rangers," Rita told her.

"Of course. What do you need me to do?" Tempestra listened as Rita outlined her plan. Then, she let out a cruel laugh. "As you wish! Those Rangers won't know what hit them!" Her laughter joined with Rita's.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I got the name "Tempestra" from the TMNT episode "Leonardo Vs. Tempestra" but I'm not sure who owns that.


	2. Water Trap

DISCLAIMER

Power Rangers belongs to Haim Saban and Nickelodeon. I only own the plot, subplots, and characters you don't recognize. I got the name "Tempestra" from the TMNT ep "Leonardo Vs. Tempestra" but I don't remember who owns that.

A few minutes later, Tempestra made herself invisible, went down to Earth, and uttered a few words in her native language. Instantly, all over Angel Grove, bodies of water began to rise and slosh. In the Command Center, the alarms began to blare.

"Ai-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi!" Alpha exclaimed as he turned on the viewing globe and checked Angel Grove to see the scene.

"Contact the Rangers at once," Zordon instructed.

"Right away," Alpha said and did so. Hearing the summons, Jason and Kat went to a secluded part of the parking lot while the other Rangers got out of the pool and went to another spot that was out of the sight.

"Come in, Zordon," Jason said.

"Report to the Command Center at once," Zordon told them. After making sure they were clear, the Rangers teleported out.

"What's going on?" Jason asked.

"Sensors have detected anomalies in the Earth's water systems," Zordon replied.

"What?" the Rangers chorused. They turned to the viewing globe to see water levels rising.

"What's causing that?" Rocky wondered.

"Or who?" Zack interjected.

"I am uncertain, Rangers. However, if left unchecked, these waters will continue to rise and may eventually flood the Earth," Zordon told them.

"Why'd it have to involve water?" Katherine wondered. _I-I can't deal with this! There's no way I can do this!_ she thought to herself.

"Billy, what can slow numerous bodies of water at the same time?" Jason wondered.

"I am uncertain. I will have to devote an extensive amount of time to research," Billy responded.

"All right. Billy you go get a sample and then take it back to your lab. Kat, you help Billy with that," Jason instructed.

"Right," Katherine agreed with a nod, looking slightly nervous. Billy let out a worried breath. _I hope I can discover the answer to this quandary. Being drowned by vast bodies of water caused by one of Rita and Zedd's spells or monsters is not really the way I would like to cease living_, he thought to himself.

"What about the rest of us?" Kimberly questioned. "There must be something we can do," she added.

"Unfortunately, all you can do at the moment is go about your day. If we detect anything else, Alpha will contact you," Zordon said.

"Right," everyone chorused.

"Come on, Kat," Billy said and the two teleported to his lab while the other Rangers teleported back to the Angel Grove Pool. Once she was in Billy's lab, Katherine looked around.

"Wow. This place is amazing," she breathed. "You built this?" she asked.

"Yes. Many years ago," Billy said as he got a vial out. "This should be able to hold enough to get a sample," he continued. Then, "If you'd prefer, you can wait here while I collect a sample."

"No. I'll come with. They might send Putties to stop you." The two teleported to Angel Grove Lake. "Just stay right here. It's far enough away from the water that you there's no risk of you getting wet," he told her.

"You're being so understanding about this. Thank you," Katherine commented.

"I can sympathize. I once had a fear of fish," Billy told her, sympathetically putting a hand on her shoulder. Then, he unscrewed the vial, knelt down by the water, and filled the vial.

"Got it," he announced. "Now let's vacate the premises before Rita or Zedd decide to send down Putties," he said and the two quickly teleported back to his lab. Meanwhile, the other Rangers had gone back to the pool just in time to see their friends scrambling to get themselves and others out of the rising water. Immediately, the Rangers dashed into the pool and helped them.

"Guys, what's going on?" Richie asked.

"Rita and Zedd are behind it, but we don't know how," Tommy answered.

"Terrific," Hilary muttered. Several minutes later, everyone was finally out of the pool.

"What's going on?" a girl queried.

"We don't know. just be careful around the water," Jason replied. Everyone nodded and gathered up their belongings and headed out. Then, the Rangers and their friends went their separate ways. As Jason headed out, he mulled over what Zordon had told them. So Rita and Zedd were messing with the Earth's water systems somehow, were they? He had to admit, it was pretty clever. Especially since it didn't seem like they had left a trace as to how they were doing it. Suddenly, something caught his eye. _What was that?_ he wondered. With a frown, he pulled his car in the direction of the silhouette he had seen. After a while, he stopped and looked around. However, there was nothing there. _Maybe I was just imagining it_, he thought to himself. A flash of white caught his eye.

"What is that?" he asked himself and the boy continued to follow. "Zordon, I'm following some sort of silhouette to a cave. I'll let you and Alpha know what I find," he reported into his communicator.

"Acknowledged, Jason. Be careful," Zordon stated.

"Will do. Jason out," Jason told him. He followed the figure for several minutes. When he finally stopped again, he was in front of rock quarry that he knew led to several caves. _Something doesn't feel right. Maybe I should morph_, he thought to himself. Then, _Come on, Jase. Don't be so paranoid. It's probably nothing and you'll be in and out really quick_. He headed into a cave and-there was a crackle of electricity and a series of bars suddenly appeared in the entrance.

"Huh?" Jason ran to the bars and when he touched them, was thrown back by the electrical shock. Harsh laughter filled the cave and to his surprise, a being in a white dress with black eyes and flowing red hair materialized in front of him.

"You fool!" she sneered.

"It's morphing time! Tyrannosaurus!" Jason shouted. However, nothing happened. The woman charged at him and he tried to teleport, but found that he couldn't. He quickly jumped out of the way.

"Zordon! I've been led into a trap!" he cried into his communicator. However, his only answer was a burst of static. _Man! why didn't I morph?_ he wondered. The woman made a motioning movement with her hand and before Jason knew what was happening; water had rushed into the cave and covered his feet.

"**You**'**re** the one responsible for what's happening!" Jason realized.

"That's right, Ranger! And there's nothing you can do about it! I am Tempestra and no one has ever beaten me!" the woman boasted. Then, with another wave of her hand, water began flowing from the ceiling. Jason let out an exclamation of surprise and tried to move out of the water's path to no avail. Tempestra laughed and then disappeared. Jason's breathing quickened as the water continued to surround him. _Man! This is not good!_ he thought to himself. As if to punctuate his thought, the water from the ceiling began falling harder.


	3. Saving Red

DISCLAIMER

Power Rangers belongs to Haim Saban and Nickelodeon. I only own the plot, subplots, and characters you don't recognize. I got the name "Tempestra" from the TMNT ep "Leonardo Vs. Tempestra" but I don't remember who owns that.

In the Command Center, the alarms blared shrilly and the viewing globe immediately switched over to show Jason in the cave.

"Ai-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi!" Alpha exclaimed as he watched the Red Ranger futilely trying to escape the onslaught of water.

"Contact the other Rangers at once," Zordon instructed and the robot did as he was told. Hearing the summons, Billy answered his communicator.

"Billy here," he reported.

"Report to the Command Center immediately," their mentor commanded and the Blue and Brown Rangers teleported out of the lab. When they landed in the Command Center, they saw that their fellow Rangers except for Jason were already there.

"Where's Jason?" Katherine wondered.

"Behold the Viewing Globe," Zordon responded and they turned around to see an image of Jason in the cave. Jason looked around frantically as the water-which was already covering his ankles-continued to rise.

"Man, I wished my communicator worked in here!" they heard him say. The water sloshed around and continued to move upwards.

"We've got to get him out of there!" Katherine gasped. Just then, the alarm blared again.

"Great. What now?" Zack wondered. The globe switched scenes to show a woman with flowing red hair wearing a white dress in downtown Angel Grove. Through the viewing globe she saw her cause waters all over Angel grove to rise with a wave of her hand.

"Ai-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi! Tempestra!" Alpha exclaimed.

"Who's Tempestra?" Aisha wondered.

"An old friend of Rita's. She has the power to control the elements and must be the one who's causing the water levels to increase," Zordon answered. Then, "My apologies Billy. If I had sensed her sooner, Jason and I would not have had you gather that sample of water."

"There's no need for apologies, Zordon. I must confess I was at a loss as to just how I was going to test the water's abnormal increase," Billy responded.

"How are we gonna get Jason out of there?" Rocky wondered.

"One or more of you will have to rescue him," Zordon answered.

"I'll go," Katherine blurted out. Everyone turned to stare at her in shock.

"Katherine, are you sure? That place is **filled** with water," Rocky reminded her.

"I-I know. But that's why I **have** to do it," Katherine insisted.

"I understand," Trini said. "And I'll go with you," she continued.

"Fine. And the rest of us will take care of Tempestra," Tommy said. Then, "It's morphing time! Drago-Tigerzord!"

"Raptor!"

"Drago!"

"Stega!"

"Brachio!"

"Mastodon!"

"Pterodactyl!"

"Triceratops!"

"Saber-toothed Tiger!" Once morphed, the Brown and Yellow Rangers landed at the cave, pulled out their weapons, and headed for the cave's entrance. The Yellow Ranger struck at the beams with her Power Daggers and instantly the bars disappeared. Hearing a cough, they rushed forward through the water-which was up to their waists-to find the Power Ranger leader completely drenched, coughing, and desperately trying to get out of the water's path.

"Come on, Jason! We've got you!" the Yellow Ranger assured as she and the Brown Ranger reached him. Then they quickly swam towards the entrance. Once they were out of the cave, Jason coughed and tried get his breath back.

"Take it easy. Deep breaths," the Brown Ranger encouraged. He did as she suggested and after several minutes was able to breath normally again.

"Let's not do that again," he rasped.

"I hear that. Once is enough," the Brown Ranger agreed. Just then, their communicators went off.

"We're here, Zordon," the Yellow Ranger reported.

"The other Rangers need your help in battling Tempestra," Zordon told them.

"Jason, can you fight?" the Yellow Ranger asked.

"Count on it. I've got a score to settle with **her**," Jason declared, his eyes flashing. "It's morphing time! Tyrannosaurus!" Once he was morphed, they teleported to the battlefield. Rita and Zedd put their staffs together.

"Make Tempestra grow!" they chorused. Electricity flowed from the two staffs and hit Tempestra, causing her to increase in size. The woman laughed evilly and created a strong wind, knocking the Rangers down.


	4. Water Play

DISCLAIMER

Power Rangers belongs to Haim Saban and Nickelodeon. I only own the plot, subplots, and characters you don't recognize. I got the name "Tempestra" from the TMNT ep "Leonardo Vs. Tempestra" but I don't remember who owns that.

"I call on the Power of Thunder!"

"Drago-Tigerzord!"

"Raptor Thunderzord Power!"

"Mastodon-Lion Thunderzord Power!"

"Pterodactyl-Firebird Thunderzord Power!"

"Drago Thunderzord Power!"

"Stega Thunderzord Power!"

"Brachio Thunderzord Power!"

"Triceratops-Unicorn Thunderzord Power!"

"Saber-toothed Tiger-Griffin Thunderzord Power!"

"Tyrannosaurus-Red Dragon Thunderzord Power!" As soon as the zords came, the Rangers jumped into the machines and let loose with their own individual zord attacks. Tempestra let out a cry of surprise. Who did these children think they were? Her eyes darkened and she summoned her powers. Well, she'd show them. No one had ever been able to take her on. With a wave of her hand, a strong wind arose.

"Jason, we gotta stop her now!" the Pink Ranger cried.

"Yeah, I know. We just gotta figure out how to get past her control of the elements," the Red Ranger responded. _But how? I don't see a crystal on her forehead like Madam Woe had_, he thought to himself. The Green Ranger played a tune on his Dragon Dagger and missiles flew from his zord and hit Tempestra.

"Maybe we can use Kat's Bo Staff," the Yellow Ranger exclaimed.

"That's a good idea," the Red Ranger agreed. The Brown Ranger summoned the weapon and it came from the sky and landed in the zord's hand. The zord began spinning the staff, going faster and faster as a wind came forth and surrounded the monster. Tempestra cried out in surprise and confusion as she was spun around. Rita hadn't mentioned that the Rangers had a weapon that could summon the elements. Finally, she was knocked off of her feet.

"Thunder Saber now!" the Rangers cried together. Tempestra cried out in surprise and tried to get up, but before she could do so, electricity traveled from the Saber and hit Tempestra. With a shriek of pain and rage, she exploded into a thousand different particles.

"NOOOOO! TEMPESTRA!" Rita shrieked. "I HAVE A HEADAAAAACHE!" Several minutes later, the Rangers were once again at the pool. However, this time, Kat had joined them in the water. _I'm so glad I'm swimming again_, she thought to herself, unconsciously moving closer to Jason.

"You know what, I'm glad the Thunder Saber had enough power to destroy Tempestra," Kimberly said softly and the others murmured in agreement.

"Speaking of Tempestra," Jason began and the others shifted their attention to him and he grabbed Kat's hand. "I wanna thank you and Trini for coming to my rescue. I know it couldn't have been easy for you," he said.

"It's no problem. I mean, I was going to have to get over my fear sometime, right?" she responded.

"Hey, I'm serious. You and Trini saved my butt. It was really morphinominal," he told her. Just then, his communicators went off. Instantly, they all huddled together even tighter and went off to the side of the pool.

"We're here, Zordon," Jason said quietly.

"Congratulations Rangers on a job well done," Zordon stated in the same tone. "And a special congratulations to you Katherine for overcoming your fear of the water," he continued.

"Thank you, Zordon," Katherine said with a soft smile.

"Thanks, Zordon," the other Rangers chorused. Then, he cut the communication. Katherine splashed Jason who spluttered in surprise.

"I'm gonna get you!" he warned. She laughed and splashed him again. Then, she took off for the other end of the pool with the boy close behind as the others laughed.

THE END


End file.
